Tom Waits is a professional singer, songwriter, and actor of some renown. Waits has a raspy, gravelly singing voice, described by one fan as "like how you'd sound if you drank a quart of bourbon, smoked a pack of cigarettes and swallowed a pack of razor blades. . . . Late at night. After not sleeping for three days. "

After five years of steady progress, scientists are now edging closer and closer to mastering real-world invisibility.

Sure, researchers have already made marked strides toward making objects unseeable. But much of the work was more like mimicry: Meta-materials that bent light around an object to conceal it, but only worked in two dimensions. Or a device that played tricks on the eye, by harnessing the mirage effect to make objects behind it “disappear.”

Now, a team of researchers have taken an incredible leap forward. They’ve successfully made a 3-D object disappear.

A group of scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have figured out how to “cloak a three-dimensional object standing in free space.” That means the object is invisible, from any angle of observation.

@ cardo: Funny, I only just mentioned 'rat turd in the choc chip ice cream'. I bleedin' loved the Glitter Band when I was a kid and I still think the music holds up well today. So it's a shame and more than a bit annoying that when I hear it now I'm reminded of Mr Gadd's kiddie fiddling exploits. Possibly a poor choice of tune for this foreign sports thing.

Mind you, the Express, like most of their toiletnewspaper brethren are never shy of following the tumbril, especially if it has the delicious, smoky scent of burning witch about it. A bit farther down, below the article, there's a link to a story about 'Migrant family who 'broke every rule in book's to swindle benefits'

@roadscum:I too loved the Glitter Band and as a sprog at infant school everyone used to sing those tunes.Some of the drumming and the guitar riffs where great.What was that track-Rock and Roll?Marvellous.Damn that beast Mr Gadd.

I was wondering if you'd been Beneath The Planet Of The Westfield in Shepherds Bush recently?I see that place every time i go out.I think it's meant to be the biggest shopping centre in Europe but i may be wrong.

A dose of ultrasound to the testicles can stop the production of sperm, according to researchers investigating a new form of contraception.They found that two, 15-minute doses "significantly reduced" the number of sperm-producing cells and sperm levels.It was most effective when delivered two days apart and through warm salt water.

Possessing the ability to noninvasively elicit brain circuit activity yields immense experimental and therapeutic power. Most currently employed neurostimulation methods rely on the somewhat invasive use of stimulating electrodes or photon-emitting devices. Due to its ability to noninvasively propagate through bone and other tissues in a focused manner, the implementation of ultrasound (US) represents a compelling alternative approach to current neuromodulation strategies. Here, we investigated the influence of low-intensity, low-frequency ultrasound (LILFU) on neuronal activity. By transmitting US waveforms through hippocampal slice cultures and ex vivo mouse brains, we determined LILFU is capable of remotely and noninvasively exciting neurons and network activity. Our results illustrate that LILFU can stimulate electrical activity in neurons by activating voltage-gated sodium channels, as well as voltage-gated calcium channels. The LILFU-induced changes in neuronal activity were sufficient to trigger SNARE-mediated exocytosis and synaptic transmission in hippocampal circuits. Because LILFU can stimulate electrical activity and calcium signaling in neurons as well as central synaptic transmission we conclude US provides a powerful tool for remotely modulating brain circuit activity.